The present invention relates to improved compositions of chewing gum. More particularly, the invention relates to improving chewing gum by the use of specific bulking agents in sugar and non-sugar chewing gum products to give improved texture, moisture absorption properties, and improved shelf life properties. The improved chewing gum compositions may also be used in a variety of chewing gum products such as confectionery coated chewing gum products.
In recent years, efforts have been devoted to replace sugar and sugar syrups normally found in chewing gum with other carbohydrates and noncarbohydrates. Non-sugar or sugar-free chewing gum, which is growing in popularity, uses sugar alcohols or polyols to replace sugar and sugar syrups. The most popular polyols are sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol. New polyols are being developed using new technology to replace these polyols. New polyols have various unique properties which can improve the taste, texture and shelf life properties of chewing gum for consumers.
The non-sugar polyols have the advantage of not contributing to dental caries of consumers, as well as being able to be consumed by diabetics. However, all polyols have the disadvantage of causing gastrointestinal disturbances if consumed in too great of a quantity. Therefore it would be a great advantage to be able to use a carbohydrate or carbohydrate-like food ingredient for chewing gum that would act as a bulking agent, but not contribute to dental caries nor cause as severe gastrointestinal disturbances.
One such bulking agent is called polydextrose. This bulking agent or bulk sweetener is approved for use in human food products and in chewing gum in the U.S. Polydextrose is also approved in countries in Europe and in Japan. Polydextrose is a randomly bonded condensation "recombined" polymer of dextrose containing minor amounts of bound sorbitol and citric acid. Although a carbohydrate, polydextrose does not contribute to dental caries, does not cause as significant gastrointestinal disturbances as polyols, and does not significantly contribute to calories.
In 1973, Pfizer, Inc. of New York disclosed the manufacture of unique polyglucose compounds (polydextrose) and their method of preparation in U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,165.
The use of polydextrose has been disclosed in various food products in EPO Patent Publication No. 0 438 912, U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,924, U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,206, U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,900, U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,441, U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,298 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,730. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,195 discloses a sweetening composition using polydextrose to stabilize aspartame against heat degredation.
The use of polydextrose has also been disclosed in chewing gum formulations in EPO Patent Publication No. 0 252 874, U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,991, EPO Patent Publication No. 0 398 465, U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,511, Japanese Patent Publication No. 86-173748, U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,963, U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,428 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,110,608. Some of these patents disclose examples using polydextrose and a high-intensity sweetener, such as aspartame.
When polydextrose was first introduced into the market, the product had low flavor quality. As a result, several patents disclosed methods of improving its quality. These are Japanese Patent Publication No. 91-20301 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,596.
Pfizer, Inc. of New York has recently introduced a premium version of polydextrose that has improved flavor quality and is marketing polydextrose under the tradename "Litesse."